Vegetable brusher and grader



Dec. 6, 1938. J. SIBILLE VEGETABLE BRUSHER AND GRADER Filed May 29, 19372 Sheets-Sheet l Jab]; 5. 271715 Dec. 6, 1938. J. SlBiLLE 2,139,318

VEGETABLE BRUSHER AND GRADER Filed May 29, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PATENTOFFICE 2,139,318 VEGETABLE BRUSHER AND GRADER John Sibille, Sunsett,La., assign or to Cotton Products 00., Inc., Opelousas, La., acorporation of Louisiana Application May 29, 1937, Serial No. 145,640

'4 Claims. This invention relates broadly to vegetable brushing andgrading machines; and, more par-:

ticularly to machines adapted to clean and grade vegetables of thecomparatively hard type, such as Irish and sweet potatoes.

, The main object of the invention is to provide a machine for thepurpose described, which can be very cheaply manufactured, and in whichthe brush part of the machine cooperates with a grading roller, not onlyto clean the vegetables I but also to grade the same.

Otherobjects of the invention will become apparent as ,the detaileddescription thereof proceeds.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the machine takenon the line ll of Figure 3;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machine with the hood removedtherefrom;

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse "section taken on the line 3--3 ofFigure 1; 4

Figure 4 is an end elevation of the. machine illustrated in Figure 1;and

' erence numeral, i5.v

ing roller 11.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan of a slightly modified form of theinvention.

As shown in the drawings, the machine comprises a casing designatedgenerally by the ref- This casing comprises side walls I and 8, endwalls 9 and I0, and a bottom constructed to form outlet hoppers ll, I2,I3, l4,

l5 and I6, corresponding in number to the dif- 1 ferent sizes ofvegetables to be graded during their passage along .a downwardlyinclined grad- An endless conveyor belt [8 is mounted to travel belowall of said hoppers for. the purpose of removing therefrom the gradedvegetables.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings,

the grading and brushing operation are per-.

formed by the grading roller IT and a brush IQ, of the stiff bristletype commonly used in cotton The grading roller. ll, preferably rubbercovered, is mounted for rotation by means of a shaft 20 extendinglengthwise of the casing 6, directly over the outlet hoppers.

I The shaft 20 is journaled at its upper end in a through a slot 3|formed in the end wall 9 and is thereby prevented from lateral movementwith respect to the casing 6. v

The lower end of the shaft 20 is slidably mounted in a collar 32 pivotedin a U-shaped 5 bracket 33 suitably secured to a cross bar 34 mountedfor vertical adjustment at the lower end of the machine. The cross bar34 is provided with screwthreaded apertures at its opposite end toreceive the screwthreaded shafts 35 1 and 36 which are journaledparallel to each other in cross bars 31 and 38 secured at their oppositeends to the standards 39 and 40 respectively. The upper ends of theshafts 35 and 36 are provided with bevel gears 4i and 42, respec- 15t'ively, meshed with bevel gears 43 and 44 suitably secured to theadjusting shaft 45, which is journaled at its opposite ends in bearings46 and 41, mounted on the cross bar 38. A handwheel 48 secured to oneend of the shaft 20 serves to impart rotation to the shaft 45 andmechanism connected thereto to raise and lower the cross bar 34 asdesired.

The brush [9 comprises a drum or cylinder 49 suitably mounted on andcoaxial with the 5 shaft 50, the lower end of which is slidably mountedin a sleeve 5| pivotally connected to the U-shaped bracket 52 secured tothe cross bar 34. The connection between the shaft and the cross bar 34is. identical with that/between 30 the shaft 20 and the same cross bar.Obviously it is intended that the lower ends of the shafts 20 and 50shall be raised and lowered simultaneously to vary the inclination ofthe grading and brushing mechanism as desired. Slots 20' 35 and 50 areformed in the end wall Ill to permit these vertical movements of theshafts 20 and 50. The upper end of the shaft 50 passes through a slot 53in the end 'wall 9 and is journaled in a yoke bracket 54 similar to thebracket 2!, and 40 having its arms 55 and 56 pivoted to the shaft 24. Abevel gear 51 secured to the upper end of the shaft 50 meshes with abevel gear 58 on the drive shaft 24. The construction so far describedis such that the shafts 20 and 50 are parallel to 45 tration of the gearin Figure 2 that the grading 55 roller l1 and the drum 49 rotate in thesame direction. The operation of the machine is such that the vegetablesare thoroughly brushed and cleaned, thereby removing dust, dirt, scaleand other foreign matter. To remove the dirt and dust, the machine isprovided with a hood extending over the machine and connected at itsupper end to a casing 6| in which a suction fan 62 is mounted, thecasing being provided with a discharge outlet 63 to conduct the dust andforeign matter away from the machine.

It is not necessary that the chute 59 be arranged as shown in Figure 1of the drawings to direct the material centrally of the line of contactbetween the brush 49 and the upper portion of the grading roller IT. Thechute 59 may be arranged at the side of the machine directly over thegrading roller IT. The effect is substantially the same, since thematerial falling on the grading rollers will be directed at once to thebrush, because the upper surface of the grading roller rotates in thesame direction as the upper sur face of the brush.

It is of the utmost importance that the brush and grading roller in thismachine rotate in the same direction. This eliminates all possibility ofcrushing the vegetables between the brush and grading roller. The fruit,or other vegetables, is practically floated between the brush androller; and is rotated positively in the opposite direction, therebyensuring a thorough brushing and removal of foreign matter during itspassage through the machine. The upward rotation of the brush toward thehood inlet also throws the dirt and other foreign matter directly towardsaid inlet.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment herein, it mustbe understood that the invention is not to be considered as limitedexcept as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. A vegetable grading and brushing apparatus, comprising: a supportingframe; a grading roller journaled in said frame and having steppedcylindrical surfaces, decreasing in diameter successively from one endto the other, a cylindrical brush journaled in said frame to rotateabout an axis parallel to the axis of said roller and with its brushsurface substantially in contact with the widest part of said roller andmeans for rotating said brush and roller in the same direction,

and suction means disposed over said roller and. brush for withdrawingmatter removed from the surfaces of the vegetables during the brushingand grading operation.

2. A vegetable grading and brushing apparatus, comprising: a supportingframe; a grading roller journaled in said frame and having steppedcylindrical surfaces, decreasing in diameter successively from one endto the other, a cylindrical brush journaled in said frame to rotateabout an axis parallel to the axis of said roller and with its brushsurface substantially in contact with the widest part of said roller andmeans for rotating said brush and roller in the same direction, meansfor varying the inclination of said brush and roller relative to thehorizontal, and suction means disposed over said roller and brush forwithdrawing matter removed from the surfaces of the vegetables duringthe brushing and grading operation.

3. A vegetable grading and brushing machine comprising: a supportingframe, a stepped grading roller and a cylindrical brush journaled insaid frame to rotate about parallel axes inclined to the horizontal,said brush having its brush surface in contact with the widest part ofsaid roller, means for delivering vegetables to be brushed and graded tothe upper ends of said brush and roller, and means for rotating saidbrush and roller simultaneously in the same direction, and suction meansdisposed over said brush and roller for withdrawing matter removed fromthe surface of the vegetables during the brushing and grading operation.

4. A vegetable grading and brushing machine comprising; a supportingframe, a stepped grading roller and a cylindrical brush journaled insaid frame to rotate about parallel axes inclined to the horizontal,said brush having its brush surface in contact with the widest part ofsaid roller, means for delivering vegetables to be brushed and graded tothe upper ends of said brush and roller, and means for rotating saidbrush and roller simultaneously in the same direction, and suction meansdisposed over said brush and roller for withdrawing matter removed fromthe surface of the vegetables during the brushing and grading operation,and means for simultaneously raising or lowering one end of said brushand roller.

JOHN SIBILLE.

